The gunman who murdered 10 people in Austria’s school shooting horror took a sickening photograph minutes before his bloody rampage . The student, named as Artur A by authorities, captured a selfie inside Dreierschützengasse high school’s lavatory in Graz, moments before unleashing his seven-minute rampage on Tuesday.
The unsettling photo depicts him clad in black military boots and combat trousers, crouched in a stall, poised for his lethal undertaking; a shot taken from his lap. He uploaded the snapshot onto X, additionally leaving behind a video for his mother and a farewell note.
Published online at 9:43 am on Tuesday, the image was posted just five minutes before his merciless assault on nine pupils and a teacher across two classrooms.
Artur A also shared pictures of his arsenal, comprising a Mercury double-barrelled shotgun and a Glock 19 handgun, alongside a disturbing caption: “Veeeeerrry early birthday present for myself.”
His social media was strewn with references to the infamous Columbine school shooting, including an image of one of the perpetrators paired with an eerie inquiry: “They look like Monsters to you?”.
Investigators have pieced together the shooter’s profile as a solitary figure obsessed with online gaming, predominantly spending his spare time in games like Call of Duty and Valorant’.
Amidst a number of disturbing posts on his social media, one follower commented ‘my hero’ beneath an image alluding to the notorious Columbine school massacre, in which 14 people died in 1999.
The horrific act was perpetrated by gunmen Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who tragically ended their own lives following the shooting. Artur had shared images of the firearms on Tumblr just days before the Fraz attack.
He was set to celebrate his 22nd birthday in a few weeks.
The massacre was executed in seven minutes, the police have confirmed. Artur A fired through a classroom door where terrified students had sought refuge, barricading themselves inside during his murderous spree.
The initial police response team arrived within six minutes of the alarm being sounded at 10am on Tuesday. Elite Cobra anti-terror officers entered the premises after 17 minutes.
By then it was too late. They were met with a gruesome scene of bodies, traumatised survivors and numerous casualties.
Artur, who claimed he was bullied at school, had been meticulously planning his rampage for months.
He shot indiscriminately, even killing a child who lived in his neighbourhood. Plans for a bomb attack were discovered alongside a ‘non-functional’ pipe device at his residence.
The suspect did not personally know the students he killed, but one of the two teachers he shot had previously taught him. In the lead-up to the attack, he had visited a local firing range and was armed with a Mercury double-barrelled shotgun and a Glock 19 handgun during the shooting.
In light of the attack, President Alexander van der Bellen suggested that Austria’s gun laws could be revised.
“If we come to the conclusion that the gun law needs to be changed, then we will do so,” he stated.